


As Long As I Have You

by MaxTheDumbass



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Growing Up Together, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Kid Fic, M/M, Mary Keay's A+ Parenting, More fluff than angst, Not Canon Compliant, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26622952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxTheDumbass/pseuds/MaxTheDumbass
Summary: Gerry And Michael have both been through a lot, but they've always had each other through it all.
Relationships: Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley
Comments: 11
Kudos: 45





	As Long As I Have You

Even from the very beginning Gerry had been told to stay away from Michael Shelley. His mother sternly telling his six year old self to stay away from the neighbors boy, that he didn't need any more distractions in his life. Of course, that had only made the young Gerry that much more curious to meet him.

As soon as he saw the moving van pull into the driveway next door Gerry snuck out his bedroom window when his mother wasn't looking. He ran over to the yard to go and meet the person Gerry was convinced would be his new best friend.

And that's when he saw him- Michael Shelley, a young boy the same age as him with similar blonde hair to his own. Except Michael's hair was curly, Gerry didn't have curly hair, he wished he did though, he thought Michael's hair looked very nice. Another thing Michael had that Gerry didn't was freckles! Gerry had only ever met the fancy rich people his mother liked to talk to, he had never met someone with freckles before. He absolutely thought Michael was the coolest person in the world. He had really hoped Michael would be willing to be his friend.

And luckily for him Michael had noticed Gerry staring at him, and nervously approached him offering a shaky hand towards him as he introduced himself with a stutter.

Gerry grabbed Michael's hand a bit too excitedly as he introduced himself as Gerard Maxwell Keay, Michael immediately giggling at his name.

“You have an old man name!” Michael had told him.

“It's not like I was the one who chose it!” Gerry told him, trying to defend himself, “Besides it's not like i have anything else to go by!”

“W-What about Gerry?” Michael offered, his stutter slipping through.

“Gerry?”

“Yeah! It could be like short for Gerard but it wouldn't make you sound all old!”

Gerry smiled wide, his very first friend had given him a _nickname_ , “I like it! You can call me Gerry then!”

“Nice to meet you then, Gerry!” Micheal said, seeming to match his excitement. 

And from that moment on the two were best friends.

Gerry's mother had been fuming when she had learned he had snuck out to go and do something he wasn't supposed to. She rambled on and on about how much trouble he was in, but Gerry was too happy to finally have a friend. Besides, none of the restrictions she set in place stopped Gerry from sneaking out again to see Michael the next day. 

The two quickly started doing everything together, his mother having to basically keep an eye on him at all times or else he would sneak off to Michael's and go play by the creek. The two boys spending hours lying in the damp grass listening to the stream as they spent hours talking about anything that crossed their mind.

Gerry was thirteen years old when he realized he might have feelings for Michael. He was pretty sure guys could like guys, he had heard his mother talk about a lady in the building where his father used to work who liked girls. So he was pretty sure he could like boys. He certainly honored he could, he really wanted Michael to like him.

He didn't really understand love- no he still was too young for that. He only knew of the love in briefs moments when one of the informational texts mother made him read spoke of someone's husband or wife, or when he'd see a couple holding hands while walking down the street. All he knew for sure was that his hand became very sweaty when he thought about Michael holding it, and he felt like throwing up when Michael smiled at him. But like a good throwing up feeling, one that made him wanna giggle, which was weird because Gerry never giggled, his mother said it was a bad habit.

It was when Gerry was dying his hair off the first time he had decided to come clean about how he felt. Dying his hair had been Michael's idea, Gerry had complained about how he had no real control over anything in his life then sneaking out to see Michael, which his mother had given up trying to stop and this point. When Michael offered the idea of dying his hair as a statement of teenage rebellion, and Gerry had always wanted black hair, it was essential for the cool goth look he saw in photos that was the coolest thing Gerry had ever seen. And his dad had black hair, and he'd do anything to look like him rather than his mother.

So the two made a deal for Michael to grab some of his father's hair dye he used to hide his graying hair when he was distracted, which was often, then he'd use it to dye Gerry’s hair.

Neither of the boys knew how to actually dye hair properly Michael just kind of awkwardly stroking the dye onto his hair with the weird brush thingy that was in the dye kit. It was an absolutely horrendous dye job, but _Michael_ had done it so Gerry really couldn't bring himself to care. Not like he would have done, it any better.

Gerry leaned into the touch of Michael touching his hair very much enjoying the physical contact, he wouldn't mind Michael playing with his hair more. Oh god, was he gross for thinking that?

Gerry cleared his throat awkwardly, “Michael?”

“Yeah? Oh g-geez I didn't p-pull too hard d-did I? I'm sorry, Gerry!” 

“What no! Mike you're fine you didn't do anything,” Gerry reassured him, “There's just something I wanna tell you…”

“O-Oh!” Michael stuttered, working his hands through Gerry's hair, getting them absolutely covered in dye, “Uh, what is it?”

“Promise you won't get mad?” Gerry asked nervously.

“I-I promise.”

Gerry inhaled softly, “I like it when you touch my hair,” he told him like it was an admission of a crime.

“You do?” Michael asked, completely missing what Gerry meant, “I can dye your hair again if you want! It's kinda fun to do!”

“What? No, Michael that isn't it,” he said, desperately trying to think of how to put his puppy dog crush into words, “I mean it's true but- that's not what i was trying to say.”

“Then what _are_ you trying to say?” Michael asked innocently.

“I… I like you…”

“Well of course you do! We're super best friends!”

“Not like that…” Gerry said nervously, “Michael had a crush on you.”

Gerry felt a sharp tug on his hair causing him to wince in pain, followed by endless apologies from Michael. “Ah! G-Gerry, I'm so s-sorry! Are y-you okay!” He asked him panickedly.

“Y-Yeah i'm fine…”

“W-Wait! no, please don't be sad!” Micheal told him shakily putting down the dye tools “It's just- I like you too! But my dad had said that liking guys was wrong and-” Gerry quickly turned around and pulled him into a hug. 

“Thank you.” Michael told him softly.

Of course both of the boys did eventually end up getting in trouble for that night, Gerry’s mother being furious at his dyed hair. Michael was lucky enough to avoid trouble at first, washing his hands off in the creek. But after several months of the two boys admittedly wholesome relationship, Michael's dad stumbled onto him giving Gerry a light kiss on the cheek and he was grounded for a month. Of course it hadn't stopped Michael from seeing Gerry just make him a lot more anxious about it.

“I hate this!” Gerry complained after almost two years of this, “We can't even live our lives!”

“I-I know…” Michael replied sadly, running his fingers through his hair shakily, “But h-hey! It's only three more years until we can escape our parents and then get married and have a cat named General Helen.”

Gerry chuckled at Michael softly, the two of them had spent hours together talking of what they would do when they were both eighteen , free from their parent’s control. They basically had a whole plan laid in place for the future.

He leaned his head against Michael's shoulder grabbing his hand tenderly, “Yeah, I know, it just sucks waiting you know, I just wanna blow this town already.”

Michael giggled, leaning into Gerry's touch, “Trust me, I want that just as much as you do but- It's not like we can just leave. We're minors, Gerry, we'd be sent back home as soon as we left.”

“Only if we got caught.”

“Do you _know_ how to avoid getting caught! Besides what would we do for food! When it gets cold! Hell, Gerry what would we do when it rains!”

“We improvise,” Gerry said casually.

“Gerry, I just think-”

Gerry sighed sadly, pulling Michael closer to him, “I won't force you into anything you don't wanna do, but I also hate to see you suffer like you do…”

“Same goes to you Gerry, your mom,” Michael rested his face in the crook of Gerry's neck, “Your mom fucking sucks, okay!”

“Then why don't we have a brief change of plans? Move our plans forward a bit? I mean the marriage may have to wait still but why don't we get the hell out of here?”

“O-Okay…” Michael said, anxiety flooding his voice.

“Really?” Gerry said surprised.

“Y-Yeah… I think, I'll be okay with anything, just as long as I have you.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.” Michael didn't say anything else , he didn't need to.

“Let's meet here at midnight, runaway together together like in the books”

Michael nodded weakly into Gerry's neck, the two boys staying there, cuddling each other for as long as they could.

That night Gerry leaned against the big maple tree in Michael's backyard, suddenly hit with the fact that if they pulled this off, this would be the last time he ever did so. He had shoved the small handful of belongings he actually gave a shit about into a bag and climbed out the window. Today would be the start of his new life, one of just him and Michael.

As if hearing Gerry think about him, Michael stumbled towards him nervously holding tightly onto a backpack. “O-Okay! I-I think i'm ready.”

Gerry grabbed his hand, trying his best to hide his own nervousness. “Stay close to me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Michael grabbed tightly onto Gerry's hand as he led them away from their childhood homes, into the unknown.


End file.
